Name: ____________________________
Date: ________________
Life Science
Period: ______________
Section C5.2: Amphibians
FROG DISSECTION
Student Instructions
Purpose:
To investigate the internal and external structures of a frog and relate the structure of
the frog to that of other vertebrates.
Materials:
• Dissecting tray
• Probe
• Scissors
• Forceps
• Frog
• Dissecting pins
PART ONE: External Structure
Carefully observe the frog, as your homework analysis questions will be based on what
you saw during the dissection.
1. Take a look at both the fore (front) and hind legs. Compare their length and
structure. Try to stretch out the hind legs to see their full length.
2. Observe the eyes of your frog. The eyes are located on the top of the frog’s
head, as opposed to on the front (like yours) or on the sides (like a fish).
3. Notice the membrane on the eyes. Refer to your frog sandwich to identify the
name of this protective feature.
4. Notice the difference in color between the dorsal (top) and ventral (belly) sides of
the frog. Think about how this difference may help the frog survive in its natural
environment.
5. Open your frog sandwich to the digestive system/oral cavity view.
6. Open the frog’s mouth. Locate the vomerine teeth just behind and between the
internal nostrils. Feel the vomerine teeth by running one of your fingers over
them.
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7. Run your finger around the edge of the upper and lower jaws. The top jaw of the
frog’s mouth (and yours, too) is called the maxillary. If you need to, refer to your
frog sandwich to locate the maxillary teeth.
8. Observe the ears (tympanic membranes) located behind the eyes. Now look at
the roof of the mouth. You will see two openings on each side of the jaw.
Carefully insert the probe into the openings. These are the eustachian tubes
which lead to the ears. The tympanic membrane and the eustachian tubes aide
in the frog’s hearing.
9. On either side of the vomerine teeth (refer to your frog sandwich), you will see
two small openings; these are the nostrils. Carefully insert the probe into one
of the openings. Notice where the probe then comes out.
10. Observe the tongue and notice where it is attached. How is its attachment
different than yours?
PART TWO: Internal Features
11. Place the frog on its back on the dissecting tray. Using a pair of scissors, make
an incision through the skin at the top of the frog’s left leg. Cut all the way
around the leg and remove the skin from the leg. You should be able to pull it off
using a pair of forceps (it should come of like pulling a sock off your leg, turning it
inside out).
12. Examine the muscle bundles. They are held together by thin tissue, but you
should be able to separate some of them. Notice the knee joint.
13. The muscles that you can see in the leg are called skeletal muscles because
they are attached to bone. As in your body, they are in opposing pairs, like your
bicep and tricep. Try squeezing the muscles at the front of the thigh and calf,
and notice what happens with the movement!
14. Pick up the loose skin between the hind legs with a pair of forceps and snip away
the skin from the entire ventral (belly) side of the abdomen. Cut through the
abdominal muscles up the middle from between the legs to the jaw. Be careful
not to damage the internal organs; cut just below the skin.
Make your incisions in the frog as diagrammed below (according to the dotted
lines):
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15. When you get near the top of the abdomen, you will encounter the bones of the
pectoral girdle; the arms are attached to the pectoral girdle. (In your body, you
can feel part of the pectoral girdle – collar bones and shoulder blades). Cut
through the bones of the pectoral girdle and remove the muscle from the
abdomen.
16. Use your frog sandwich to identify the internal organs on your frog, according to
their descriptions, and check off the box once you locate them:
a) Liver – largest internal organ; brown, three lobed;
located at the top end of the body cavity.
b) Gall bladder--Lift the lobes of the liver, there will be a
small green sac under the liver. This is the gall bladder,
which stores bile. (hint: it kind of looks like a booger)
c) Stomach – white J-shaped organ
d) Esophagus – connects to the top end of the stomach
e) Small intestine – connects to the bottom end of the
stomach
f) Pancreas – small bit of tissue that lies in between the
stomach and the first loop of the small intestine
g) Large intestine – short but wide tube
h) Cloaca – leads to the outside
i) Kidneys – large, paired organ that runs down the center
of the frog’s abdomen and is connected to the bladder
j) Lungs (not in proceeding diagram) - Locate the lungs by
looking underneath and behind the heart and liver. They
are two spongy organs
STOP!
If you have not located each of the organs above, do not continue on to the next
section!
17. If you have time, carefully remove the stomach from the inside of the frog and cut
it open. You may find what remains of the frog's last meal in there. Look at the
texture of the stomach on the inside – is it smooth or does it have ridges?
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Name: ___________________________
Date: ________________
Life Science
Period: ______________
Section C5.2: Amphibians
FROG DISSECTION
Analysis Questions
1. You observed a protective layer over the frog’s eye at the beginning of this lab.
What is the name of this membrane and what two benefits does it provide for the
frog’s eyes?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. Why do you think the placement of the eyes is particularly beneficial to the survival
of the frog in its environment?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. The frog is colored slightly different on its dorsal (top) and ventral (bottom/belly)
sides. How does this difference in coloration aide in the survival of the frog in their
natural environment?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. The frog has two different kinds of teeth: maxillary and vomerine. Based on their
appearance, do you think that the frog is able to chew its food? Why or why not?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. The lungs are rather puny compared to the frog’s overall size. Why do you think it
may not be so important for the frog to have large, well-developed lungs?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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6. The cloaca is the only opening through which material exits the frog’s body. It
services the reproductive (both male and female), excretory and digestive systems.
Identify which materials exit the body through the cloaca from each of these three
body systems.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
7. Using your frog sandwich and the organs you observed during the dissection (also
listed on page 3 of the lab packet), identify the organs on the diagram below:
Artery
A
Left atrium of heart
Left atrium of heart
J
Ventricle
B
I
H
G
C
D
E
F
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